Thor Olavsrud
05-28-2005, 02:50 AM
Initial thoughts:
1. From a pure player protagonization standpoint, I think we need to reevaluate Atoning for Weakness in the Eyes of God. We had an instance of it tonight (see below). First, I think we need to make it clear that a player does not HAVE to reveal to anyone that his Fanaticism has been shaken. It needs to be the player's choice to go in for atonement. Second, I think the player who is atoning should be allowed to choose a Belief that is offered up for sacrifice (refocusing his commitment to the Jihad). While I agree with the idea that a Fanatic can and should be forced to give up a part of himself for the Jihad, it really sucks for a player to have no say in giving up a Belief that he sees as integral to his concept. So the player chooses the Belief up for sacrifice. The priest gives him a new Belief. I think the player should also be able to suggest a new Belief, subject to the priest's approval. We want to take choice away from the character, not the player.
2. I love the taxing aspect of Failing in the Eyes of God. However, I don't think dice gained through Beliefs should be permanently lost when Fanaticism is taxed to zero. Fanaticism dice from traits and advancements are fair game though. I'm cool with the idea of players dropping Fanaticism Beliefs when they would be lost from dropping to zero, but I think the player should get to decide when and if he gives up Fanaticism entirely.
Onto the Actual Play:
The game began with our Jihadis landing on the world of Kuru with their troops, where they were met by the Shayk's agents and escorted to a safehouse prepared for them on the outskirts of the city of Taifa. The Shayk had a dossier on important figures on Kuru, and shared it with the group, whence they proceeded to make their plans.
I proceeded to run a quick scene for each player.
Tom immediately set up a meeting with a Syndicate banker in Taifa and paid a hefty sum for satellite maps of the planet. During the meeting, the banker adjusted a contact lens, leading Tom to suspect that he was Salt Addicted.
Big Rich attempted to scout the residence of Baron Bhima Halberd-Pandava, younger brother of Count Pandava and leader of the most powerful House Minor on the planet.
Little Rich called on Andy's influence to secure a position as delivery boy with a dress-maker in the capitol city of Kurun, hoping to use that position to infiltrate Pandava Palace.
Anthony used an advantage die from the maps supplied by Tom, and his own skills to scout out the safe houses and ensure that they were not under surveillance.
Finally, we got to Andy, who made use of his relation with Quarl Meori, police chief in Kurun, to hold a briefing by translink. Andy, playing the paranoid, told Meori that he believed rivals were spying on him, and that he wanted Meori's help in setting up a counter-surveillance scheme.
This is where I sprung the first Bang on them: Meori told Andy that the surveillance may be something other than Andy supposed; House Pandava believed a group of Jihadis had landed on the planet, and one of their agents had been caught right in Pandava Palace! That agent was being interrogated by Countess Seerojini Lady Pandava, a Sisterhood Witch suspected to know the secrets of Truthsay.
Little Rich, on his way to Pandava Palace with a delivery of dresses, perked up at this, of course! Armed with this new information, Andy immediately decided to move up the schedule of their next meeting, and sent a transmission to Little Rich, hoping to pull him out before he could stumble into the mess at the Palace.
Playing up his Belief (My life is expendable, my soul is not!), Little Rich told Andy that he was in the middle of a mission, and then hung up on him! I awarded Little Rich a Fate point right then and there.
By this point, Andy was beginning to get frantic reports from his Fidahi that agents assigned to the palace were past due for reports. It seemed the palace network was being rolled up!
Little Rich approaches the palace with his delivery, where he is scrutinized by very suspicious guards on high alert. Rich rolled miserably on his Inconspicuous test. The guard immediately said "You! Come with me!"
We decided to turn to the Duel of Wits, as the other players groaned at the thought that their leader was about to be snapped up by the enemy less than two hours into the game. With some good scripting, and by spending nearly ALL of his starting Artha (he spent 1 Fate, 3 Persona and 1 Deeds), Rich took down the guard. Rich lost 4 points from his 7 Body of Argument, so as a compromise he offered to have the guard accompany him while he made his delivery. I accepted.
However, while Rich started off in quite a reasonable tone, by the end of the duel he was calling down fire and brimstone and referring to the Mahdi! There was no question of his allegiance! I awarded him a Persona point for Embodiment.
Rich took the dresses to the servant quarters, but to an oppulently appointed room. He suspected the rooms belonged to Ana Bilal, the Neurostim Slave Dancer, and Count Pandava's current favorite bedmate. She was not present, but Rich did notice a photograph of a little girl (presumably Bilal herself), with an older man (presumably her father). More interesting though, was that he recognized the location of the photograph as a place on the Salt Planet!
Having escaped his fate, Rich rejoined the others at a safe house to discuss further plans.
Aware by now that the Sisterhood Witch had penetrated Andy's organization in the palace, Little Rich and Big Rich paid a visit to the handler that was the sole link between the captured agents and Andy. Little Rich told the handler that he must commit suicide, but would immediately gain entrance to heaven. Without skippig a beat, the handler bowed to the Hujjat and rammed a knife in his own neck, taking his life.
Next, Tom made a Circles test to arrange a meeting with Vikram Sehgal, one of the top two smugglers on Kuru, who was trying to take over from his rival organization, run by Vipul Patel. Despite throwing in a linked Black Market-wise test that scored him an Advantage die, a B3 Circles and a +3D Reputation, Tom failed the Ob 4 test (he only netted one success!) I invoked the enmity clause (with the thought that Sehgal would be quite unamused by a legendary smuggler trying to edge his way into the delicate balance between Sehgal's organization and Patel's organization.
Tom brought along Anthony and four of his men for protection. At the meet (held at Sehgal's base), Sehgal's body guard said he would only allow Tom's character to enter the office. Cue another Duel of Wits in which Tom forced the bodyguard to allow just Anthony's character to accompany him.
Going for a Yojimbo vibe, Tom attempted to lie to Patel and suggest that he intended to kill Patel for vengeance (a lie). Tom did not have the Falsehood skill, so he tested with Beginner's Luck and failed miserably. The conversation took a turn for the worse, especially when Sehgal said: "Give me one reason I should let you walk out of here alive?"
Without missing a beat, Anthony invoked his Belief (The Fedayin give our lives so that the Fellahin may live ) and drew his knives! I gave him a Fate point. He turned around to stab Sehgal's bodyguard, as Sehgal went for a gun to shoot Tom. Anthony carved up his opponent in moments, but Tom had less luck, and only a few well timed Avoids prevented Sehgal from seriously wounding him with a Slave Pistol.
Tom spent a Persona point to aid himself against Sehgal at one point, but failed the roll and had his Fanaticism taxed down to zero.
After seeing what was done to his bodyguard, Sehgal surrendered., much to Tom's relief. However, Anthony was not satisfied. He invoked his Belief ( I will visit the wrath of the Jihadi on those who have oppressed us), and cut off Sehgal's feet! I awarded him Persona right there.
Tom's plan was blown, but he used the opportunity to take Sehgal's surviving men as his own (gaining an Advantage die from Sehgal's feet in convincing them that they did not wish to cross him).
Going through Sehgal's records, Tom also learned that Sehgal had been used as a go-between in some information the Syndicate sold to House Pandava around the time that the PCs arrived on planet.
There's a bit more that happened, but I'll detail that in a follow-up post after I've slept!
1. From a pure player protagonization standpoint, I think we need to reevaluate Atoning for Weakness in the Eyes of God. We had an instance of it tonight (see below). First, I think we need to make it clear that a player does not HAVE to reveal to anyone that his Fanaticism has been shaken. It needs to be the player's choice to go in for atonement. Second, I think the player who is atoning should be allowed to choose a Belief that is offered up for sacrifice (refocusing his commitment to the Jihad). While I agree with the idea that a Fanatic can and should be forced to give up a part of himself for the Jihad, it really sucks for a player to have no say in giving up a Belief that he sees as integral to his concept. So the player chooses the Belief up for sacrifice. The priest gives him a new Belief. I think the player should also be able to suggest a new Belief, subject to the priest's approval. We want to take choice away from the character, not the player.
2. I love the taxing aspect of Failing in the Eyes of God. However, I don't think dice gained through Beliefs should be permanently lost when Fanaticism is taxed to zero. Fanaticism dice from traits and advancements are fair game though. I'm cool with the idea of players dropping Fanaticism Beliefs when they would be lost from dropping to zero, but I think the player should get to decide when and if he gives up Fanaticism entirely.
Onto the Actual Play:
The game began with our Jihadis landing on the world of Kuru with their troops, where they were met by the Shayk's agents and escorted to a safehouse prepared for them on the outskirts of the city of Taifa. The Shayk had a dossier on important figures on Kuru, and shared it with the group, whence they proceeded to make their plans.
I proceeded to run a quick scene for each player.
Tom immediately set up a meeting with a Syndicate banker in Taifa and paid a hefty sum for satellite maps of the planet. During the meeting, the banker adjusted a contact lens, leading Tom to suspect that he was Salt Addicted.
Big Rich attempted to scout the residence of Baron Bhima Halberd-Pandava, younger brother of Count Pandava and leader of the most powerful House Minor on the planet.
Little Rich called on Andy's influence to secure a position as delivery boy with a dress-maker in the capitol city of Kurun, hoping to use that position to infiltrate Pandava Palace.
Anthony used an advantage die from the maps supplied by Tom, and his own skills to scout out the safe houses and ensure that they were not under surveillance.
Finally, we got to Andy, who made use of his relation with Quarl Meori, police chief in Kurun, to hold a briefing by translink. Andy, playing the paranoid, told Meori that he believed rivals were spying on him, and that he wanted Meori's help in setting up a counter-surveillance scheme.
This is where I sprung the first Bang on them: Meori told Andy that the surveillance may be something other than Andy supposed; House Pandava believed a group of Jihadis had landed on the planet, and one of their agents had been caught right in Pandava Palace! That agent was being interrogated by Countess Seerojini Lady Pandava, a Sisterhood Witch suspected to know the secrets of Truthsay.
Little Rich, on his way to Pandava Palace with a delivery of dresses, perked up at this, of course! Armed with this new information, Andy immediately decided to move up the schedule of their next meeting, and sent a transmission to Little Rich, hoping to pull him out before he could stumble into the mess at the Palace.
Playing up his Belief (My life is expendable, my soul is not!), Little Rich told Andy that he was in the middle of a mission, and then hung up on him! I awarded Little Rich a Fate point right then and there.
By this point, Andy was beginning to get frantic reports from his Fidahi that agents assigned to the palace were past due for reports. It seemed the palace network was being rolled up!
Little Rich approaches the palace with his delivery, where he is scrutinized by very suspicious guards on high alert. Rich rolled miserably on his Inconspicuous test. The guard immediately said "You! Come with me!"
We decided to turn to the Duel of Wits, as the other players groaned at the thought that their leader was about to be snapped up by the enemy less than two hours into the game. With some good scripting, and by spending nearly ALL of his starting Artha (he spent 1 Fate, 3 Persona and 1 Deeds), Rich took down the guard. Rich lost 4 points from his 7 Body of Argument, so as a compromise he offered to have the guard accompany him while he made his delivery. I accepted.
However, while Rich started off in quite a reasonable tone, by the end of the duel he was calling down fire and brimstone and referring to the Mahdi! There was no question of his allegiance! I awarded him a Persona point for Embodiment.
Rich took the dresses to the servant quarters, but to an oppulently appointed room. He suspected the rooms belonged to Ana Bilal, the Neurostim Slave Dancer, and Count Pandava's current favorite bedmate. She was not present, but Rich did notice a photograph of a little girl (presumably Bilal herself), with an older man (presumably her father). More interesting though, was that he recognized the location of the photograph as a place on the Salt Planet!
Having escaped his fate, Rich rejoined the others at a safe house to discuss further plans.
Aware by now that the Sisterhood Witch had penetrated Andy's organization in the palace, Little Rich and Big Rich paid a visit to the handler that was the sole link between the captured agents and Andy. Little Rich told the handler that he must commit suicide, but would immediately gain entrance to heaven. Without skippig a beat, the handler bowed to the Hujjat and rammed a knife in his own neck, taking his life.
Next, Tom made a Circles test to arrange a meeting with Vikram Sehgal, one of the top two smugglers on Kuru, who was trying to take over from his rival organization, run by Vipul Patel. Despite throwing in a linked Black Market-wise test that scored him an Advantage die, a B3 Circles and a +3D Reputation, Tom failed the Ob 4 test (he only netted one success!) I invoked the enmity clause (with the thought that Sehgal would be quite unamused by a legendary smuggler trying to edge his way into the delicate balance between Sehgal's organization and Patel's organization.
Tom brought along Anthony and four of his men for protection. At the meet (held at Sehgal's base), Sehgal's body guard said he would only allow Tom's character to enter the office. Cue another Duel of Wits in which Tom forced the bodyguard to allow just Anthony's character to accompany him.
Going for a Yojimbo vibe, Tom attempted to lie to Patel and suggest that he intended to kill Patel for vengeance (a lie). Tom did not have the Falsehood skill, so he tested with Beginner's Luck and failed miserably. The conversation took a turn for the worse, especially when Sehgal said: "Give me one reason I should let you walk out of here alive?"
Without missing a beat, Anthony invoked his Belief (The Fedayin give our lives so that the Fellahin may live ) and drew his knives! I gave him a Fate point. He turned around to stab Sehgal's bodyguard, as Sehgal went for a gun to shoot Tom. Anthony carved up his opponent in moments, but Tom had less luck, and only a few well timed Avoids prevented Sehgal from seriously wounding him with a Slave Pistol.
Tom spent a Persona point to aid himself against Sehgal at one point, but failed the roll and had his Fanaticism taxed down to zero.
After seeing what was done to his bodyguard, Sehgal surrendered., much to Tom's relief. However, Anthony was not satisfied. He invoked his Belief ( I will visit the wrath of the Jihadi on those who have oppressed us), and cut off Sehgal's feet! I awarded him Persona right there.
Tom's plan was blown, but he used the opportunity to take Sehgal's surviving men as his own (gaining an Advantage die from Sehgal's feet in convincing them that they did not wish to cross him).
Going through Sehgal's records, Tom also learned that Sehgal had been used as a go-between in some information the Syndicate sold to House Pandava around the time that the PCs arrived on planet.
There's a bit more that happened, but I'll detail that in a follow-up post after I've slept!